UNIVERSITY  ARCHIVES 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


TO  THE 

STUDENTS,  FACULTY,  ALUMNI  AND  FRIENDS  OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

OPPOSITION  to  the  Strawberry  Canyon  site  for  the  Stadium  has  been 
represented  by  several  newspapers  as  purely  local  and  personal.  It 
is  not  reprehensible  that  the  residents  of  the  district,  chiefly  college  pro- 
fessors and  professional  men  of  limited  means  should  feel  deeply  the  loss 
of  the  privacy,  view  and  natural  beauty  for  which  they  and  their  families 
have  had  to  work  long  and  make  many  sacrifices.  But  it  is  unjust  and 
ungrateful  to  assume  that  such  people  who  continually  make  sacrifices 
in  their  devotion  to  their  work  for  small  compensation,  could  not  be 
unselfish  enough,  to  accept  cheir  losses  in  silence  for  the  sake  of  the 
University's  interest.  But  they,  as  well  as  we,  who  are  not  in  any  way 
financially  involved  in  the  issue  feel  very  positively  that  the  loss  to  local 
property  owners  is  infinitesimal  as  compared  to  the  loss  to  the  Uni- 
versity. In  support  of  their  position  and  ours,  the  following  arguments 
are  submitted  to  you: 

(You  will  note  that  the  statements  under  each  heading  where  expert  opinion  is 
involved  appear  over  the  signatures  of  men  of  long  experience  and  training  in  their 
respective  fields.) 

First.  Athletic  Considerations:  The  location  of  the  stadium  in 
Strawberry  Canyon  would  prevent  its  being  the  central  unit  of  a  large 
athletic  establishment.  Yale  and  Harvard  have  long  since  recognized 
the  need  of  such  establishments  to  counteract  the  tendency  to  profes- 
sionalism and  to  attain  the  English  ideal  of  sport  for  all  rather  than  great 
athletic  proficiency  for  the  few.  There  is  no  comparatively  level  ground 
near  Strawberry  Canyon,  either  on  or  off  the  campus,  and  the  acquisition 
of  adjacent  private  property  and  the  grading  necessary  to  secure  level 
fields  would  entail  enormous  expense.  We  therefore  urge  that  a  large 
field  be  chosen  west-of-Shattuck  Avenue,  or  on  the  campus  itself  near 
Agricultural  Hall,  and  that  the  Stadium  be  made  the  central  feature  of 
this  field.  There  could  be  no  more  fitting  memorial  to  those  who  fell  in 
the  Great  War  than  to  provide  for  democratic  athletics. 

Second.  Considerations  of  Transportation  and  Accessibility: 
Whatever  provision  may  be  made  for  transportation  and  the  handling  of 
crowds  at  Strawberry  Canyon,  it  is  quite  obvious  that  better  provisions 
could  be  made  if  indeed  they  do  not  already  exist  at  any  of  the  other 
sites.  These  considerations  obtain  with  particular  force  to  the  west-of- 
Shattuck  locations  where  there  are  several  transportation  lines  that  are 
not  charged  with  heavy  normal  traffic  and  where  automobiles  can  be 
parked  and  handled  with  much  greater  ease.  In  statements  that  have 
been  made  regarding  the  accessibility  of  Strawberry  Canyon,  the  hori- 
zontal distances  from  the  various  car  lines  have  been  given,  but  no  men- 
tion has  been  made  of  the  vertical  distance. 


Third.  Architectural  Considerations:  The  masterly  skill  with 
which  the  Stanford  Stadium  was  constructed  and  its  great  impressive- 
ness  when  filled  with  a  crowd  have  led  many  persons  to  assume  that  the 
same  sort  of  structure  could  be  built  with  equal  ease  and  excellent  results 
in  Strawberry  Canyon.  We,  the  undersigned  do  not  agree  with  this  view 
and  offer  the  following  serious  objections: 

(a)  The  Canyon  is  too  small  to  accommodate  a  structure  of  the  size 
required,  approximately  80(3  feet  long  by  600  feet  wide.    To  cram  into  and 
across  the  mouth  of  this  rather  narrow  canyon  a  huge  earthwork  mound 
whose  top  would  be  about  forty  feet  above  the  end  of  Prospect  Street  and 
about  ninety  feet  above  Piedmont  Avenue  would  be  a  repetition  on  a  colossal 
scale  of  the  common  error  of  crowding  a  large  house  on  a  small  lot.     It  is 
very  difficult  for  laymen  to  visualize  this,  and  a  scale  model  of  canyon  and 
stadium  would  clearly  show  the  unfitness  of  the  site. 

(b)  A  very  steep  slope,  almost  amounting  to  a  cliff,  will  apparently 
have  to  be  carved  in  the  side  of  the  Big  C  Hill  in  order  to  secure  earth  for 
the  structure.     It  would  obviously  be  very  difficult  to  mask  such  a  slope 
with  planting. 

(c)  The  axis  of  the  Canyon  is  east  and  west.    The  axis  of  the  Stadium 
should  of  course,  approximately   coincide  with  this   to  make  the   Stadium 
properly  fit  its  natural  surroundings,  but  this  is  impossible  because  of  the 
practical  requirements  of  keeping  the  west  sun  out  of  the  players'  eyes. 

(d)  The  development  of  the  walks  along  Strawberry  Canyon,  walks 
that  would  far  exceed  the  beauty  of  Addison's  famous  one  at  Oxford,  have 
long  been  the  hope  of  many  teachers  and  students  of  the  University.     The 
canyon's  informal  beauty  with  its  infinite  variety  of  deep  ravines  and  open 
glades  of  trees  and  plants  and  flowers,  and  its  wealth  of  bird  life  would 
always  provide  a  perfect  foil  to  the  monumental  dignity  of  our  many  stone 
buildings.     The  construction  of  the  Stadium  in  Strawberry  Canyon  would 
in  a  large  measure  destroy  the  inspiration  that  nature  has  placed  there  for 
men  to  profit  by. 

Every  architectural  problem  is  one  of  location,  design  and  construc- 
tion. We  believe  that  in  this  instance  a  grave  error  is  being  made  in  the 
first  very  important  phase,  and  that  no  detail  study  of  the  later  phases  will 
avail  unless  the  Stadium  is  greatly  reduced  in  size. 

Signed, 

W.  G.  CORLETT,  U.  C.  '10,  Architect,  Oakland,  Stadium  Builder. 
H.  H.  GUTTERSON,  U.  C.  '05,  Architect,  San  Francisco,  Stadium  Builder. 
W.  T.  STEILBERG,  U.  C.  '09,  Architect,  San  Francisco,  Stadium  Builder. 
W.  H.  RATCLIFF,  U.  C.  '03,  Architect,  Berkeley,  Stadium  Builder. 
BRUCE  PORTER,  Landscape  Architect,  San  Francisco. 

Fourth.  Considerations  Affecting  the  Greek  Theatre:  The  unique 
beauty  of  the  Greek  Theatre  as  a  setting  for  University  activities  has 
contributed  no  small  amount  to  the  distinguished  reputation  of  this 
University.  The  placing  of  the  Stadium  in  Strawberry  Canyon  almost 
adjacent  to  it  will  inevitably  limit  the  possibilities  of  its  use.  Even  now 
with  California  Field  more  distant  and  with  its  noises  not  reinforced  by 
any  such  megaphonic  action  as  the  Canyon  back  of  the  Stadium  would 
provide,  is  a  source  of  disturbance  to  speakers  and  musicians  and  to  the 
audience  in  the  Greek  Theatre. 

Signed, 

JULIAN  R.  WAYBUR 
W.  E.  CHAMBERLAIN 

Fifth.  Scientific  Considerations :  The  particular  part  of  Strawberry 
Canyon  which  would  be  destroyed  by  the  building  of  the  Stadium  on  the 
proposed  site  serves  as  a  natural  Biological  Laboratory  which  is  open 
at  all  times  for  the  use  of  students  of  the  University  and  the  lower 
schools.  If  this  laboratory  is  destroyed  it  can  never  be  replaced.  A 


Chemical  of  Physical  laboratory  can  be  built  and  equipped  at  will. 
Money  will  buy  all  that  is  needed.  But  a  natural  Biological  laboratory 
cannot  be  made.  It  exists  now  in  Strawberry  Canyon.  It  is  the  largest 
and  best  equipped  laboratory  on  the  campus  and  the  most  valuable 
because  no  amount  of  money  can  buy  another.  Zoology  and  botany  are 
of  the  first  importance  in  the  development  of  hygiene,  medicine  and 
scientific  agriculture.  The  University  cannot  do  its  work  properly  in 
these  important  fields  if  deprived  of  one  of  its  most  precious  means  of 
instruction  and  research. 

Signed, 

DR.  BARTON  W.  EVERMANN, 

Director  of  California  Academy  of  Sciences 

DR.  HARVEY  M.  HALL,  U.  C., 

Carnegie  Institution  at  Washington. 


The  fact  that  the  Regents,  all  men  and  women  of  distinguished 
achievement,  give  many  hours  of  their  valuable  time  to  our  University 
makes  us  hesitate  to  challenge  their  judgment.  But  we  feel  that  in  this 
case  there  has  been  brought  upon  them  an  undue  pressure  of  haste  and 
that  the  issue  is  of  such  vital  importance  that  they  must  be  asked  to 
carefully  reconsider  their  decision.  You  as  students,  as  members  of  the 
faculty  and  as  Stadium  builders  can  appeal  to  them  as  parties  who  are 
only  interested  in  this  issue  in  the  welfare  of  your  University.  The 
letting  of  contracts  is  imminent;  immediate  and  forceful  action  is  neces- 
sary. Write  to  the  Regents  at  once  in  protest.  You  who  are  Stadium 
builders  can  most  forcefully  express  your  serious  concern  by  calling 
attention  to  the  fact  that  you  subscribed  for  a  certain  location  and  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  "conditions"  of  the  contract  empowering 
anyone  to  depart  from  the  purpose  for  which  money  was  collected,  with- 
out first  securing  your  definite  written  consent. 

CAMPUS  PROTECTIVE  ASSOCIATION 

(Room  617)  519  California  St.,  San  Francisco 


NOTE. — There  are  no  dues  for  membership  in  this  association.  Expenses  are 
met  by  voluntary  contributions.  Surplus  funds  will  be  donated  to  the -University 
for  campus  improvement  purposes.  If  you  subscribe  to  the  above  ideals  and  opinions, 
send  your  name  to  the  office  of  the  Association. 


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